Cash and parcel carrying railway



(No Model.)

H. A. BAKER. CASH AND PARCEL CARRYING RAILWAY.

N0.-Z85,374. Patented Sept. 1883.

A'axaa-t'. I A XDSNEE-E QT} W R RAM AAA Q/ZMA Ii 13. 14AM UN TEn STATES j PATENT OFFICE.

HUDSON A. BAKER, 0F BAY our, MICHIGAN.

CAS H ANI D' PARCELCARRYING RAILWAY.

SPECIFICATION forming.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HUDsoN A. BAKER, a

citizen of the United States, and residing in BayvOity, in the county of Bay and State of Michigan, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Store-Service Systems and Cash and Parcel Carriers, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to store-service systems in which cash or parcels are carried from one place to another by an inclined railway; and it consists, chiefly, in a continuous inclined railway beginning at some station in the store and leading in any desired direction and distance, and terminating at the station from which it started, and provided with switches and mechanism for operating the same, and carriers adapted to travel on the rails, and also to operate the switches, as I hereinafter more fully describe and claim, and illustrate in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a plan or top view of my improved railway. Fig. 2 is a side view'of the same. Fig. 3 is a topview or plan of my improved switch. Fig. 4 is a side view of the same. Fig. 5 shows the manner in which different carriers operate different switches. Fig. 6 is a section of a carrier closed. Fig. 7 is a section of a carrier open. Fig. 8 is aside view of a carrier open.

A represents a line of railway beginning at the desk or table 13 and in an elevated position, and leading outward in any direc tion, and having made any desired circuit ends at the station from which it started. This railway A is placed on a continuous incline from the starting-point A, so that a carrier adapted to travel on the rails will be propelled by its own weight along the line around the room and to the terminus or lower end of the rails at the table near the starting-point.

a is a carrier adapted to travel on the track A,and is composed of a cylindrical body, b, divided longitudinally near the center, the upperportion, b, forming alid, and is attached to the lower port-ion, b, by the hinges c, and when closed is held to the lower portion, 1), by

the spring-catch d, which is fastened in the proper position to the lid 1)", and when the lid is closed the catch dis releasedby pushing i11- ward on the button 6, which extends through the part b and acts on the springcatch (I. At each end, and properly secured to the lower portion, 1), of the body, are the wheels f,which revolve independent of thebody. The diameter of the wheels being somewhat smaller than that of the body I), and the length of the body b being the same as the distance between the rails, it serves to keep the carrier on the rails;

Around the body b is a raised part, h, which acts on the lever of the switch, (shown in Figs. 3 and 4,) Arepresenting the main line of railway, and C the side track, which intersects the main line.

D is a switch-rail, one side of which is curved to conform to the curve 'of the switch,

while the opposite side is straight or so shaped to conform to the mainline. This switchrail D is pivoted near the center and at a suitable point, so that it will properly intersect with either the curved switch or theniain line, as may be desired.

Beneath and at right angles with the switchra-il l), and firmly secured to the same, is the cross-piece 1*], forming the arms F and G. To the outer end of the arm F is pivoted the connecting-rod H, the opposite end of the rod H being pivoted to the lower end of the downward-projecting lever I, the upper end of this lever I being secured firmly to the outer end of the actuating-shaft J, which is located across and beneath the rails just forward of the switch.

At a suitable point between the rails on the shaft J is firmly attached the lever K, which extends upward and forward to a proper distanee, so that when 'a traveling carrier passes along the projection it acts on the lever K and presses it downward andforward, and thereby moving the lever I backward, together withthe connecting-mod H and arm F, and thereby causing the switch-rail D to move over and intersect with the rail Z of the main line'A and turn the carrier 011 the switch. After the carrier has passed over the switch -rail D it comes in contact with the lever L, which is placed in a suitable position and firmly fastened to the oscillating shaft M, placed across beneath the rails," and at the outer end of the shaft M is secured the lever N, which, proj ecting downward, is pivoted to the end of the connecting-rod O, the other end of the connectingrod being pivoted to the arm G of the cross piece E, so that when the carrier passes over the lever- L the lever L is actuated forward and downward, and, by means of the connect ing parts, serves to move the switch-rail D back to its former position in line with the main track, so that another carrier (not designed to operate the switch-rail) will pass by on the main line. By locating these raised portions hon different parts of the surface of the carrier a different switches may be operated by the different carriers, and each carrier will pass by any switch it is not designed to open, as illustrated in Fig. 5, and a carrier which has operated a switch may be placed on the main track at any point beyond the switch, and it will then travel to the terminus of the main line. Directly over the lever K is placed a brake, P, which extends back for some dis tance, and is pivotedto a suitable stationary piece, Q, near the end, leaving the arm R projecting in front of the piece Q and over the arm R, and in a suitable stationary piece is located the set-screw S, which adjusts the brake P to bear properly 011 the passing carrier as it operates the switch, and also, if desired, can be used for retarding the motion of a swiftlytraveling carrier. The power of the brake P is adjusted by the weight t, located near the lower end of the brake, and, by moving the weight it nearer the lower end of the brake, causes the brake to bear with greater force on v the traveling carrier.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a cash-carrier, one or more continuous situated between the two ends that it will reg- I ister with the lever that actuates the switch at the particular station at which such carrier is designed to stop, substantially as described and set forth.

3. In an automatic switch fora cash-railway, the movable switch-rail D, pivoted at a point near the center and having one side curved to conform to the curve of the side track, and having the opposite side straight to conform to the line of the main track, and adapted to intersect with either track, substantially as described and set forth.

4. As a means of operating an automatic switch in a cash-railway, a cylindrical carrier, a, provided with a portion of its surface raised and adapted to engage with and actuate the lever K, which is located below the track, substantially as described and shown.

5. The brake P, provided with a set-screw, S, and weight T, in combination with the carrier a and the track A, substantially as shown and described. I

HUDSON A. BAKER.

W'itnesses:

JAMES E. THOMAS, G. H. FRANCIS. 

